Sadly we report that the Annual Smile Jamaica Concert will not be held this year. Jamaican’s.com reported today (01/26/2010) that apparently there are some issues preventing the promoters, from making the 2010 Bob Marley Smile Jamaica Birthday Show from happening. they say that 2011 will be bigger and better. We will be waiting to see.
Do You Remember the facts behind the Emmet Till Murder ?
FYI, Emmett Till was a 15 year old Black Youth from Chicago, visiting his family in the south. he made the mistake of being Black in a time when it was totally fatal for your health. the FBI Concluded in the late 1990’s he was murdered by a bunch of white racists. because he supposedly whistled at a white woman.
it was later proven that He Didn’t – he died at 15 for a Lil White Lie. if that wasn’t enough now we have this mess in Chicago..
We’re going through our family archives right now looking for info on how many of our relatives in Chicago are buried in that dreaded cemetery. probably more than 10.. which is making me madder by the minute.
For sure My Father; who was buried there in 96′; and probably at least 5 aunts and that many uncles; along with cousins in the dozens. in fact my most favorite uncle and cousin are there, for sure. it makes me literally sick.
we’re not in Chicago so that means we weren’t there to check on the graves and make sure of their condition. no doubt we’re going to b on that growing list of families who’ve seen their relatives tossed aside like dead wood..
Why – Good Ole’ American Greed. How Criminally Insane are these folks ?
don’t they realize that people will Kill You DEAD for messing with their relatives dead remains ? I’m not adding my name to that list, but I am adding our names to the list of relatives who’s family has buried in that cemetery since the 1950’s. It was basically the only Black Cemetery for Chicagoans, and those in the close area. the damn cemetery is almost in Gary Indiana; to show you how much the white folks who finally gave the permit; didn’t want it to exist – Within Chicago Proper.
Yes Racism Even In Death..
When Does It End People.. WHEN ?
This Black on Black Racism Has to Stop. This is the Final Straw
Major Grave Re-Selling Scheme In Illinois Uncovered
ALSIP, Illinois (CNN) — Authorities revealed more disturbing discoveries Friday at an Illinois cemetery where hundreds of burial plots were allegedly dug up and resold, including more emptied graves and the discarded casket of a civil rights icon.
Family members and police gather outside the Burr Oak Cemetery office in Alsip, Illinois, on Wednesday.
More than 2,000 families went to Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, after authorities uncovered what they say was a scheme to excavate the graves, dump the remains, resell the plots and pocket the cash.
Four people face felony charges.
As families arrived to check on their loved ones’ graves, they told authorities about 30 more cases “where another crime scene is obvious,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said at a news conference.
Earlier this week, Dart estimated the number of disturbed graves at about 300, but he said Friday the number is likely to rise.
“People have gone to grave sites where the headstones are gone. People have gone to the grave sites where a different person is there now. People have gone to grave sites where it’s clear that something has been removed,” he said.
New burials are taking place, Dart said, and one family that arrived Thursday to bury a woman found that the plot was already occupied.
Dart also said Friday that authorities discovered Emmett Till’s original casket in a dilapidated garage on the cemetery grounds. Till was reportedly buried in a different casket after his body was exhumed in 2005. Watch sheriff discuss gruesome revelation »
“There was wildlife living inside of it,” Dart said of the old casket, which he said was found in the corner of a garage filled with lawn care equipment and other “piles of things.”
Till, 14, was brutally killed in August 1955 in Mississippi after he reportedly whistled at a white woman. Despite the gruesome condition of his corpse, his mother insisted on a public funeral and open casket in an effort to draw attention to the ferocity of her son’s killing.
His body was exhumed 50 years later as part of a renewed probe into his death. The Chicago Tribune reported that he was reburied in a different casket.
Thousands of people viewed Till’s body in the original casket in Chicago shortly after he was killed, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said at Friday’s news conference.
“His mother had the gut and grit to say that, ‘I want America to see what they did to my baby’s body,’ ” Jackson said. “More than 100,000 saw his body lying at the church. It is said that those who saw his body were never the same again.
“Emmett Till’s lynching redefined emotions in our culture in very fundamental ways,” Jackson said. “So to see his casket in this state of desecration and neglect is very painful.”
Cemetery groundskeepers told investigators that Till’s grave was not among those disturbed in the alleged scheme, Dart said earlier this week.
Carolyn Towns, an office manager for the cemetery, and gravediggers Keith Nicks, Terrance Nicks and Maurice Daley have each been charged with dismembering a human body, a felony. Sentences could range from six to 30 years, authorities said. Watch officials announce the charges »
Steven Watkins, an attorney for Towns, said his client is innocent. The public defender’s office in Cook County said it had represented the three others at the bond hearing but could not provide a statement.
Authorities began investigating the cemetery — where, along with Till, blues legend Dinah Washington and some Negro League baseball players are buried — about six weeks ago after receiving a call from its owners.
The owners said they suspected “financial irregularities” regarding the business, Dart said earlier this week.
The owners are not believed to be involved in the alleged scam.
Today we honor Michael Jacksons’ efforts to awaken the music buying public about the pirates at Sony Music. Watch As Mike Tells It Like it T.I.S.
This is from one of his appearances in London several years ago. this basically shows us why Mike held back on his music.
just yesterday we read a piece from Tommy Mattola of Sony; who said he knows they have at least 200 pcs of unreleased Michael Jackson Music that they plan to release over the next few years. talk about robbing a dead man.
to quote Mike “Leave Me Alone“..
Mike Called Tommy Mattola and Sony Music - “Devils“. I’m inclined to believe and agree with him; after seeing that story by Mattola, released immediately after Michaels’ death.
Now I understand why Mariah Carey called him a Devil and said she had to do whatever was necessary to get away from him. apparently Mike felt the same way.
The problem we see is two fold. Sony seems to see Michaels unpublished work as theirs; which it isn’t. also it seems they have some secret agreement which extends after death. personally speaking, I’ve never seen a contract which extends after the lifetime of an artist. this is speaking as a recording co. exec presently. I asked lots of my cronies, and they agreed, when the artist dies; the contract ends. redistribution rights and agreements are contingent on agreements made with the artists’ estate and executors.
I for one, do not believe that Mrs. Jackson will be interested in talking to Tommy Mattola. Sony better find someone to negotiate with before they think they’re going to release any further material from the King of Pop.
This is the reason that alot of releases of previously released material hits the market enmasse following an artists death. in the case of Michael Jackson; his music shot to the top five places on the global pop charts this past week. that alone ensures Sony will see a humongeous profit from a previously static catalog. this is what all record company execs pray for.
somehow the timing of Michael Death is just too convenient; and mattolas’ statement makes me get this greasy feeling down deep. Let the chips fall where they may, but if murder was the case, no doubt the footprints will eventually lead back to 550 Madison Avenue.
too many loose strings; too many coincidences; too many un answered riddles. this is the murder mystery of the year. no doubt detectives will be trying to unravel this cocktail of intrigue and drugs for a while. Michael Jackson left indelible proof that he was indeed preparing to embark on another successful peroid as an artist. this would have most certainly removed him from the clutches of Sony Music Finally. AEG, the company who was to sponsor his 02 concerts is cash flush. they have insurance and are prepared to handle the losses. Was Sony prepared to loose Michael Jackson to another company ? I think not.
trust me, my nose is itching on the bad side and somewhere in there is a booger named “Sony Mattola”.. have mercy if I blow real hard. cause we’re gonna pray for the truth to finally come out. Lets think about this real hard; and the hive mentality will prove that Michael is a Victim in this case.
Please, The next-time you purchase music - REMEMBER WHERE YOUR MONEY IS GOING, REALLY - demand quality for your cash. you’re paying for it; AND DEMAND ARTISTS BE PAID FAIR ROYALTIES.
Michael Jackson had a mountain of unreleased recordings in the vault when he died — music that is almost certain to be packaged and repackaged for his fans in the years to come.
The material includes unused tracks from studio sessions of some of Jackson’s best albums, as well as more recently recorded songs made with Senegalese R&B singer and producer Akon and Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am.
“There are dozens and dozens of songs that did not end up on his albums,” said Tommy Mottola, who from 1998 to 2003 was chairman and CEO of Sony Music, which owns the distribution rights to Jackson’s music. “People will be hearing a lot of that unreleased material for the first time ever. There’s just some genius and brilliance in there.”
The releases, Mottola said, “could go on for years and years — even more than Elvis.”
Since Jackson’s death Thursday, there has been an enormous, almost unprecedented demand for the King of Pop’s music. Nielsen SoundScan said Wednesday that three of his records — “Number Ones,” “Essential Michael Jackson” and “Thriller — were the best-selling albums of the week, and 2.3 million tracks of his have been downloaded in the U.S. alone.
When a music star of Jackson’s stature dies, labels typically comb through their archives to pull out anything they can release. New compilations of recordings by performers such as Elvis, Tupac and Jeff Buckley are still released nearly every year.
Mottola, who has described himself as the “shepherd and gatekeeper” of Jackson’s catalog and is familiar with it better than anyone, said that for every album Jackson made — including classics like 1979’s “Off the Wall” and 1982’s “Thriller” — he recorded several tracks that didn’t make it onto the records.
(Mottola had only laudatory things to say about Jackson, who criticized Mottola in 2002 as a racist. Among those who defended Mottola at the time was the Rev. Al Sharpton.)
The details of who owns Jackson’s unreleased music and concert footage are not entirely clear. Sony Music declined to comment. A person involved with the label who requested anonymity said no new projects or compilations are being planned yet.
The Jackson family has not publicly discussed plans for Jackson’s catalog. In a 2002 will filed in court Wednesday, the pop star left his entire estate to a family trust, with his mother and his children named as beneficiaries.
Steve Gordon, an entertainment lawyer and author of “The Future of the Music Business,” worked at Sony Music during the 1990s. He said he was at Sony when Jackson’s last contract was negotiated, though he acknowledged it could have recently been updated.
Gordon said Jackson owns some of his master recordings, while others are owned in partnership with Sony. Regardless, he said, Sony retains exclusive distribution rights for anything Jackson produced during the term of their contract.
Gordon said he expects Sony’s Legacy Recordings division to do something similar to what it did with Elvis and create a division purely for Jackson’s catalog.
“They’ve done every kind of configuration to try to squeeze more money out of the catalog with Elvis and they’ll do it with Michael Jackson — be sure of it,” Gordon said. “I imagine that there’s a … load of concert recordings that may or may not have been released.”
Jackson’s last original album was 2001’s “Invincible.” His 2005 child molestation trial and other controversies distracted him from recording, but he was active in recent years.
He died just weeks before he was to perform 50 concerts at London’s O2 arena in what was supposed to be his comeback. He had also begun working on new material.
Two weeks before he died, he wrapped up work on an elaborate production dubbed the “Dome Project,” which could be the final finished video piece overseen by Jackson. Two people with knowledge of the project confirmed its existence Monday to The Associated Press on condition they not be identified because they signed confidentiality agreements.
Four sets were constructed for Jackson’s production, including a cemetery recalling his famous “Thriller” video. Shooting for the project lasted from June 1 to June 9. Now in post-production, the project is expected to be completed next month.
Last year, Jackson released “Thriller 25,” an album marking the 25th anniversary of the album. It included the new song “For All Time,” as well as five remixes that involved will.i.am, Kanye West, Akon and Fergie.
The Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am has said he and Jackson recorded several songs together. He told the BBC on Monday that Jackson had possession of their demos, and that the songs “demanded all the people to the dance floor.”
Akon had hoped to complete an album with Jackson once he finished his London concerts. The singer said they used to meet in Las Vegas whenever they had the time, and would talk on the phone constantly about ideas for the album.
Akon said they never actually completed a song except for “Hold My Hand,” which leaked last year. “All the other songs were just ideas,” Akon said.
He said he will keep the song fragments — a chorus here, a verse there — “locked up in the vault” until the Jackson family decides how to proceed. He said it could be worked into a tribute album.
“It was all positive records — songs to uplift people, songs to make people think about the problems in life,” Akon said. “It was all about bringing people together.”
this post is all about defining the term Blog v. Splog
Many of us don’t use the words Splog, or Splogger when we should and today we are aiming to define and clarify that fine line between a Blog and a Splog
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